[Insert Your Candidate’s Name Here] Won Last Night’s Debate by a Landslide [OPINION]
If you missed the first 2016 Presidential debate last night, or even if you didn't, just search whatever you wanted the outcome to be and you'll find a wealth of articles that will tell you that's what happened.
Last night's debate was a 90 minute assault on our eyes, ears, and hearts, that saw two of the least liked people in America trying to convince a willfully misinformed electorate that they have what it takes to have the world's most important job. There were lies, there were lukewarm zingers, there were empty promises -- it was a real bulls*** buffet. All you could stand to eat was yours for the taking.
Now I have my own opinions about candidates in this election, but so does everyone else. I won't bore you with those. I'm writing this article about how this election is considered by many to be the worst this country has ever seen, and how it's our own damn fault.
The other day I was driving through a neighborhood in Flint. There was a boy, roughly 6-8 years old, riding a razor scooter down the middle of the road, one hand on the handlebar, and the other mashing the buttons of a Nintendo 3DS that his head was buried in. That kid gave zero f***s. That kid is America right now.
The internet has revolutionized the way people communicate and learn, but it has also crippled our collective conscious. It has enabled us, as a society, to "unfollow" anything that we're not interested in. Sadly, most are tuning out important things like politics, national and world news, and economic issues, and devoting their time to YouTube makeup tutorials, the intricacies of Batman's rogues gallery, and dank Harambe memes. The internet can be a rabbit hole of self-indulgent nonsense -- and our whole country is falling through it.
Even if you do try to follow political, environmental, or economical issues -- you can always find a narrative that best suits your preferences. Take last night's debate, for example. Many people are calling this debate a decisive victory for whomever they already wanted to win. Let's look at some examples of how differently this incredibly well documented event played to different people.
Trump Won the Debate
Hillary Won the Debate
Trump Lied
Hillary Lied
The Debate was Rigged
The point is that, regardless of what really happened -- whatever you wanted to happen happened according to somebody. When there is so much misinformation from different media outlets -- everything becomes true, and nothing is true. It's an epidemic that's only amplified by people getting their news from each other. Pretty soon nobody knows what they're talking about, and half the country is voting against or in favor of something that's not even real. That's how we ended up here.
If that bothers you -- good. It should bother you. It bothers me. There's no way to know everything about everything. The truth isn't always volunteered by those who have it. The only way to make sure you're informed is to pay attention, and not just to the people telling you what you want to hear. If you only want to hear that your ideas are the best, and everything you want will be yours -- go curl up in your mommy's lap.
If you want to know what's really going on, get your information from a lot of different news outlets... and I'm not talking about InfoWars.com. Look to real news outlets, even (and especially) the ones that are slightly biased for the other guys. Look to foreign news outlets, who are much less likely to co-sign any of our American bulls---.
All you can do is gather information from factual news reports, and make the decision that best aligns with your values... or don't. It's a free country. However, it might cease to be one if we can't occasionally look up from our Ninetndo 3DS to avoid the semi-truck headed straight at us.